DESIREE ROGERS

This ability to mix people together is something I learned early on.

I was in the White House for a year and a half. Up to that point, all my jobs had been very unglamorous.

We have not really advertised Chicago internationally.

There's no time to waste. Every day, there needs to be movement on something.

We can't just rest on the fact that this is beautiful Chicago. I want to triple down on that experience and make it... life-altering.

I'm much more comfortable in a meritocracy and in reward for good work as opposed to a political environment, where I feel like all of that can be confused.

When a person makes a decision, people will always want a reason they understand, so they'll put a negative spin on things.

I don't do ordinary work. That is not me in the least.

Washington is like playing the Super Bowl, only there are no timeouts, no potty breaks, and the arena is filled with the media. In government, you have to learn to put yourself second in a big way. But I am a business person at heart. I like to be in charge.

In many respects, we really are trying to not run the Social Office like a business, but we do have a strategy. We do have a mission. We are trying to standardize certain things so that our time is not spent on, you know, picking flowers or linens, that we've got standards.

I'm a business person at heart.

I don't consider myself flashy at all. I mean, did I dress like the average Washingtonian? No.

I think the Social Office is really the office where East meets West. For those that don't know, the East side is typically the First Lady's side of the house. The West side is typically the President's side of the house.

As social secretary, I was responsible for putting together all the events that the President and the First Lady host.

No one should walk into a party and have a stamp that says 'mayor' or 'businessman' on their head. Everyone is just there to have a good time.

My job is to make certain that I've done what I was asked and my department has done what we were asked to do by the president and the first lady and the State Department. I believe that we accomplished that.

I'm from New Orleans, and I know that people do like to sit and talk and drink and, you know, have conversation; you have dialogue.

It's not a question that people have a very negative image of Chicago. They just don't think about it.

I love bringing people together. I think that the environment is so important in terms of what kind of relationships you might be able to create, how people get to know each other.

I think it's fair to say I feel much more comfortable in business than in politics.

There is an environment where someone is always looking for someone to make an error. They're always looking not for the good things, the wonderful things the president and first lady are doing, they're looking for an error or to criticize. And it's not conducive to good work.

I've always been searching. What am I going to do with all this - searching for that place where I could be me.

Johnson Publishing offered me an opportunity to build back iconic brands like 'Ebony' and 'Jet' magazines.

In London, a lot of the time you don't see the sun shine.

I do feel strongly that we have got to do a little brand-positioning work. Wouldn't it be great to have something that everybody could say: 'Yep, that's Chicago.'